Tidbinbilla Moths

Emperor Gum Moth Opodiphthera eucalypti  (c 15 cm wingspan)

I was out at Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve last week helping with a moth survey organised by Glenn Cocking and Suzi Bond for their book on moths of the Australian Capital Territory. The site was well sheltered beneath tall eucalypt trees and I managed to photograph about a dozen species. Here is a small selection of the ones I photographed. It is the colours and form that appeal to me. Knowledge of these species is so sparse that I cannot fill out the text to tell more about them, especially their lifestyles, habitats and foodplants. Hopefully that will all be in the book.

Melanodes anthracitaria dark phase (c 5 cm wingspan)

This rather ordinary moth is worth a mention because it occurs in two colour forms; a dark all grey phase, and light phase of grey blotched with creamy/yellow.

Melanodes anthracitaria light phase

Hypobapta sp. from above (c 4 cm wingspan)

I like to see the moths' tiny faces, antennae and those big round eyes. 

Hypobapta sp. from the side/front

Praxis porphyretica (c 4 cm wingspan)

Callitera rotundrata (c 4 cm wingspan)

Cleora sp.  (c 4 cm wingspan)

What wonderful antennae.

Nisista sp. (c 4 cm wingspan)

This species looks so much like a rolled-edged leaf lying on the forest litter.

Endotricha ignealis (c 2 cm wingspan)

This species seems deliberately to hold its forequarters up on its long legs, and its great long antennae are swept over its back. 

Endotricha ignealis 

Parepisparis lutosaria (c 7 cm wingspan)

Finally, this was my favourite find of the night, magnificent colour and form.

Platypus

A typical view of a Platypus on the surface between dives for food

Last week I was out at Tidbinbilla Nature reserve in the ACT, specifically to look for Platypus Ornithorhynchus anatinus and I saw three. The ponds and dams there are probably one of the best places to see these wonderful animals. Although mostly nocturnal, they do come out to feed around midday and if the water is calm and the light flat under an overcast sky they can be spotted paddling around on the surface between dives for prey.

The best way to spot them is to watch for ripples on smooth water

It is always tricky to capture a sharp image of a Platypus as their fur is always slick with water and they glisten in bright light. But it is simply satisfying to sit for a while and watch them as they carry on with their lives, quietly and unobtrusively. A trip out to Tidbinbilla is a true escape from the increasingly bustling city of Canberra.

Platypus are quite common but easily overlooked

Red Bellied Black Snake

Never blinking concentration

While walking with Lachlan through Tidbinbilla Nature reserve in the Australian Capital Territory yesterday, he noticed one, then a second and even a third snake lurking in the undergrowth between the path and the waterside of a small lake. They were all Red-bellied Black Snakes Pseudechis porphyriacus, one of my favourite species of snake in Australia as they have a rich shiny black top side and a fiery red belly - and I have never seen an aggressive one.

A glimpse of the beautiful red belly of the snake as it slipped over a path

The first one glided onto and across the path to drop into a patch of marsh where it carried on hunting for frogs, lizards or whatever else it might eat. The colour on its belly was more easily seen as it crossed the open path than when it slipped through the grasses.

Hunting in the waterside grass

That one was about a metre and a half long and the others about two metres, perhaps one female and two males. But why are people obsessed with the length of snakes, their size does not make them more dangerous (unless they are very large pythons which could kill a human if given a chance). These Black Snakes are very venomous, yet they were quietly getting on with their life and as we left them alone, they left us alone. No one has been recorded as being killed from a bite by any of  this species. 

There was an appropriate visitor sign in the reserve which said 'the only good snake is a live snake' and I for one agree. We just need to be careful if they are around. 

This one would lift its head up to see, or scent for prey, but I don't know why it spread its hood as I didn't approach it.
This is usually a sign to back off, so I did anyway.